Uban gave a little shrug and a light laugh. "When? Oh, I just...I don't know. Did. I used to sit out in the pasture with the sheep and entertain myself with singing and eventually the lute. But I think my mum's to blame for that." He winked. "Da's a drunken bastard who never liked me much. But my two sisters are his pride and joy. He'd sooner hit me than sing to me. But not mum. She always hummed whenever she cooked, or would sing us to sleep when we were really little. Encouraged the habit in me, I guess. And it's just...something I do. Did you know, there's all sorts of different versions of sea shanties, depending on the region or even the specific crew? The bones of 'em are the same, but details like words and rhythm change a bit. I find that really neat."  He'd had quite a bit to drink by this point, though he had an incredibly high tolerance for a man of his size. Still, he spoke a little louder and his nose was red. "You said you play the harp, I'd love to hear you sometime. Maybe you and me could do a duet one of these days in some tavern, yeah? I can ask Rohaan to get you a little half-harp. I'm not sure how he does it, but he's a remarkable thief for his age."

Berlin smiled at this. "I'd like to say I taught him what he knows, but that ain't true. Half, he comes by naturally. The other bit Pieter and I coached him on, and I've got to say, he's really come along." The way Berlin talked about it, it seemed like he was telling them all about Rohaan's new skill in art, or in wood whittling or cooking--something respectable--and not thievery. There was not a drop of disapproval in the Captain's tone, either. Berlin did not have the love for blood that some other pirates had, nor even the penchant for all manners of debauchery (only a few suited his tastes). He was a con-artist, deep down, and he loved a good challenge and an even better haul. Which is why he left small merchant ships alone, or whaling boats--the prize wasn't worth the effort. 

The night sky deepened and the moon rose. Uban was now quite firmly drunk and could no longer sit up exactly straight in his seat by the fire. Once, he had attempted a song on his lute, but as drunk as he was, he couldn't chord with his whole, right hand very well, and the four-fingered left one was near useless. So after a miserable stumble through of a song punctuated by many sour chords and a following "Damn!", he put it away. Instead, he began to drunkenly howl, 

[I]"My husband's a farmer, a farmer, a farmer
a very fine farmer is he!
all day he plows fields, plows fields he plows fields
and at night he comes home and plows meeee!"[/I]

And in a surprising turn of events, Berlin picked up the following verse. His voice was softer than Uban's, quieter. Supressing a grin he added, 

[I]"My husband's a carpenter, a carpenter, a carpenter
a very fine carpenter is he!
All day he pounds nails, pounds nails, he pounds nails
and at night he comes home and pounds me!"[/I]

Clearly, Uban thought the Captain to be quite above singing bawdy tavern tunes and this rare moment was of great surprise to him, as he suddenly gave up the song and burst into laughter so hard that he wheezed a little, and the corners of his eyes sparkled wetly in the firelight. 
"I don't get it," Rohaan chimed. "Pounds...that's...this, right?" he punched one fist into his open hand. 
"It's got two meanings, Rheoaan," Berlin explained when no one else seemed keen to volunteer for [I]that[/I] explanation. "One of them is that, yes. The other is sex," Berlin told him quite plainly and without any dithering or hesitation. 
"Oh," Rohaan answered simply with a now disinterested shrug. Even understanding the words, he still didn't get the joke. 

Rohaan watched Hana for a bit through the firelight, studying her with eyes that almost gave the impression of being luminous in the dim light on account of their bright and vibrant color. He still wasn't sure what to make of her, yet. And he did not look at Wheel. He was irritated with him of course, but the hurt from Berlin ran far deeper than anything Wheel said to him. He'd been riled up, then, and Rohaan could deal with being shouted at, or even batted around a bit. But trust was a fragile thing. Tiring of studying Hana, he rose and sat himself beside Pieter, looking almost reverently at the thin, inked man. "Pieter, I forgot to tell you!" Very importantly, he said, "I saw a mermaid today! She was nice, she even let me touch her scales." Of course, he had no idea that Pieter was the one who called her to him in the first place. Rohaan liked Pieter, and very much liked to impress him, or at least to feel he had. "I wonder...do you think I could turn into one if I tried...?" 

Berlin shot a look at his mate that said [I]speaking of...[/I] and then glanced over at a very well-sauced Uban, who was grinning stupidly and loosely attempting to put down more food, though he would get distracted after a bite or two and the bowl ended up sitting in his lap more than anything. "Rheoaan," he said rather pointedly. "You should get to sleep. It's late, and we have a lot to do tomorrow."

Rohaan was not happy to hear this at all. Berlin did not often order him off to bed, and frankly, Rohaan didn't feel much like sleeping at the moment. Not when others were still up. There was a split second between them in which Rohaan looked like he might protest, and Berlin looked like he'd have a counter argument at the ready, but an impish glimmer came into the boy's eyes and, deftly outsmarting his Captain, he said, "But...what if I ask Hana to read to me?"
Berlin sighed in defeat. "Well it won't do you any good asking ME, will it?"
Rohaan padded over to her, scuffling the soft sand between his toes "Ha--um, Miss Seuville..." 

The sudden formality and politeness was so shocking to Berlin (who had not known that Rohaan agreed to calling her that while doing lessons) that he actually choked a little on his mouthful of wine and narrowly avoided spitting it into the fire. Berlin looked to Pieter and whispered in a very quiet tone, "Pieter, mate, stars above! You broke him!" There was concern on his face but it was betrayed by the jovial glimmer in his tone; he was trying not to laugh.

Uncharacteristically nervously, Rohaan continued, only glancing up into her eyes for a second at a time as though he had not spent the entire evening staring at her. "You got your book with you...? The one you were reading me earlier? Could...maybe you could read me some tonight?"